San Diego State, Mountain West still married for now
The expected divorce between the conference and the Aztecs did not happen as the school will stay put for at least the next two years.
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1. San Diego State, Mountain West still married for now
The expected divorce between the conference and the Aztecs did not happen as the school will stay put for at least the next two years, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
Well whadda you know? Common sense prevailed for a change.
San Diego State is staying in the Mountain West — for now. The two sides agreed to remain married. That is until a suitable suitor comes a callin’ for the Aztecs, and perhaps others.
“I think my overarching philosophy to the entire thing is San Diego State is a positive to the Mountain West,” MW commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Wednesday at the conference’s Football Media Day in Las Vegas. “We are better with San Diego State, and I feel good about where we landed.”
The Mountain West and San Diego State have been playing a game of chicken for the better part of a month after the Aztecs sent a letter to the conference saying they were exiting despite having nowhere to exit to. Once the SDSU president realized she had done something incredibly stupid, the school basically said, “Nah, we were only joking. We ain’t leaving.”
2. Angels sweep Yankees for first time since 2009
Chase Silseth was called up from AAA and dominated on Wednesday, striking out 10 as the Angels won 7-3 against the Yankees, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Brandon Deutsch.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Angels finished off the Yankees for a much needed sweep, considering the two heartbreaking losses against the Astros over the weekend (both games of which they could have won). In fact, it was the first time the Angels have swept the Yankees since 2009 and it couldn’t have come at a better time for a team trying to get back into the playoff race before August 1st’s trade deadline. The Angels also set a record for strikeouts over a 3 game series with 42 against the Yankees over the last three games.
Continuing on some Angels history, the Halos have now gone 18 straight games with a home run, tying the franchise record for consecutive games with a home run. As of right now, the Angels are 49-48 and are 4.5 games back of the Astros and Blue Jays for the 2nd/3rd Wild Card spot. If the Halos want to make the playoffs, they will have to take advantage of a 6 game stretch against the struggling Pirates and Tigers which begins on Friday night. Until then, they will have Thursday off to recover and rest before a pivotal stretch over the rest of July.
3. Urias struggles in series finale as Dodgers lose, 8-5
A rough start by Julio Urias and offensive outburst by Baltimore leads to a loss, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
Well, you can’t win them all as they say. The Dodgers found themselves on the losing end of an offensive breakout by the Orioles, much like the Dodgers did to them last night. It was a hot start for the boys in blue, as they scored two runs in the 1st inning off of Dean Kremer on a Will Smith double (who continues to stay hot) and a David Peralta single to make it 2-0. However, the onslaught started in the bottom of the first for the Orioles, as they scored 4 runs to take the lead right back on a Jordan Westburg single that scored two and a Ramon Urias double that scored another two. For Julio Urias, it was a less than ideal start for a pitcher that had looked like himself in the previous two outings. In the 3rd inning, the offense kept coming for Baltimore, as they scored 2 more runs off of yet another Ramon Urias double and a wild pitch.
James Outman got the offense going again in the 4th inning with the first opposite field home run hit by a left handed hitter with the new dimensions at Camden Yards. After an Austin Hays sacrifice fly in the bottom half to get that run right back, Max Muncy broke a 1-22 stretch with a two-run home run to center field to get the Dodgers back to a two run deficit.
For a reason that can only be explained by Dave Roberts wanting Julio Urias to find his groove again, he sent him back out for the 5th inning after giving up seven earned runs in previous innings. Gunnar Henderson proceeded to extend the lead to 8-5 and end Urias’ disaster of a day.
There was no scoring on each side after that action-packed first 5 innings, and the Dodgers never really got much else going offensively after that. The Orioles bullpen has a stable of great arms in that bullpen and they flexed it Wednesday afternoon. Phil Bickford and newly recalled Justin Bruihl provided 3 innings of scoreless relief but the Orioles ended up closing it out and salvaging a game in this series.
4. Padres outdo Blue Jays in pitchers dual in Toronto
Padres throw a shutout to lead the team to a 2-0 over the Blue Jays, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Isaiah Zuravel.
It would be a pitcher’s dual In game 2 of 3 between the Blue Jays and Padres. For the Padres anchoring the team would be Yu Darvish who was lights out with 7 strikeouts in a strong 6 innings of work. The Blue Jays had Jose Berrios on the mound who in the 5th inning would give up the game’s 2 lone runs off of a Manny Machado single. The Padres bullpen was lights out with Josh Hader shutting the door striking out 2 out of 3 batters.
5. Sparks get ready for second half of season
The Sparks are 7-13 and they hope to make a push for the playoffs in the second half of the season, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
The Los Angeles Sparks continue to go through it as the second half of the season officially began on Tuesday as games resumed in the league. Luckily for the Sparks, they get a bit of extra rest as they don’t play until Thursday when they visit Minnesota to play the Lynx for the fourth and final time this season.
The Sparks are 7-13 and currently in a 6-game losing streak. However, they have also been hit with a ridiculous amount of injuries; in Lucas Seehafer’s injury tracker from the Next, it’s been mentioned that the Sparks players have missed 72 total games due to injury/illness (Dallas Wings are second with 53) and that’s not even taking into account Stephanie Talbot (ACL) and Katie Lou Samuelson (pregnancy) missing the season.
“We’ve had 12 different starting line-ups in the first 20 games so trying to find the chemistry and continuity through that hasn’t always been easy. But again, proud of their commitment to prepare and proud of their commitment to compete. And, again, hasn’t always resulted in the win-loss column,” recounted Sparks head coach Curt Miller.
6. Three Chargers who must step up at training camp
The Chargers will need certain players to step up this training camp, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.
The team didn't pick up Kenneth Murray's fifth-year option for two reasons; the money and his play. It isn't a knock when speaking about his play because Murray has improved every year since he was drafted.
He still hasn't reached the expected level, especially because he was drafted in the first round.
The Chargers need him to take the next step in his development, especially if he can make an impact in the run game.
He has done all the right things on paper. Teammates have been raving about his work ethic and how he has grown.
Murray will be lining up with former all-pro linebacker Eric Kendricks, who said the former Oklahoma linebacker helped him learn the playbook and adapt to his new team.
Yes, Murray hasn't lived up to the position he was drafted, but this will be a make-it-or-break-it training camp for him.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game Friday.
6:38 p.m. – Pirates at Angels – $15
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
10:07 a.m. – Padres at Blue Jays – Bally Sports San Diego
5:00 p.m. – Sparks at Lynx – Amazon Prime Video
7:00 p.m. – Aces at Storm – Amazon Prime Video
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Adrian Hernandez, Brandon Deutsch and Armani Buckets as they talk to the co-founder of SlamBall, Mason Gordon, about the league making a comeback.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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